Who is striking? How Christmas and New Year walkouts will affect you
- Published
After Covid ruined holidays for so many, the hope was that this year's Christmas getaway would be easy. Instead, strikes are set to cause disruption at airports, on the railways and on the roads.
How will this affect you? This is my latest bumper briefing for the next 10 days, with lots of useful information.
When will there be airport delays?
Every day from 23 December to New Year's Eve - except Tuesday 27 December - passengers will face delays getting through passport control at Birmingham, Cardiff, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow and Manchester airports. The port of Newhaven will also be affected.
About 1,000 Border Force staff who are members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) - are expected to walk out. Armed Forces personnel and Home Office volunteers will be stepping in for striking officers.
The head of operations for Border Force, Steve Dann, said he hoped to keep all airports and ports open, but passengers should expect some disruption. The government is recommending people check with travel operators, external before embarking on their journeys.
Meanwhile, on 29 December, some baggage handlers at Heathrow plan to strike. It will involve around 400 members of Unite, employed by private contractor Menzies.
When are the next rail strikes?
While there is ongoing disruption and some localised strikes on 23 December, a national strike of RMT members is due to start at 18:00 on 24 December until 06:00 on 27 December. Network Rail says that most train journeys will end at 15:00 on Christmas Eve.
However, under normal circumstances, trains don't run on Christmas Day or Boxing Day anyway. Even on days when strikes aren't happening, many passengers are facing reduced services due to an overtime ban by the RMT union at 14 train companies. The ban runs until 2 January. On some lines, that means services starting late and finishing early.
East Midlands Trains - Unite union strikes on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 December, external
GWR and West Midlands Railway - TSSA union strikes on Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 December, external
Take a look at our full guide to the train strikes or the advice from Network Rail., external
Problems on the roads?
National Highways traffic officers in the PCS union working in London and the south-east of England will stop work from 23 to 25 December, in the West Midlands and South West on 30 and 31 December, while all members across the UK will strike on 3 and 4 January.
The strike will involve control centre staff. Traffic officers who work in the aftermath of accidents will also stop work.
PCS says the walkout is likely to reduce the number of officers, external able to deal with collisions and cause delays to reopening carriageways and motorways.
National Highways says no roads will be closed and it has "well-rehearsed resilience plans in place".
Meanwhile, bus drivers in south and west London are striking on 24, 27 and 31 December. Eight further strikes are planned in January.
When do ambulance workers strike again?
On 28 December, paramedics, control room staff and support workers will take part in a second day of strike action - some 10,000 members of the Unison, GMB and Unite trade unions across most of England and Wales are involved.
The start times and lengths of the walkouts vary between ambulance services, but all will last between 12 and 24 hours.
Ambulances will still be sent to the most life-threatening calls - known as Category 1, which includes heart attacks. But it is up to each NHS Trust in consultation with the unions to decide which calls are responded to.
Patients who are seriously ill or injured, or whose lives are in danger, are being advised by the NHS to call 999. For all other healthcare needs, the NHS is advising people to contact NHS 111, external online or via the NHS 111 helpline, or to contact their local GP or pharmacy.
Some 750 members of the military have been drafted in to help, but their role will be limited.
Looking further ahead, two more strikes have just been called by Unison on 11 and 23 January, affecting services in London, Yorkshire, the North West, North East and South West.
Watch Make Sense of Strikes on iPlayer and find out more about why people are striking and whether industrial action works.
When are the next Royal Mail strikes?
Two of the busiest days for pre-Christmas deliveries - Friday 23 and Saturday 24 December - will see members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) walk out.
If you still have cards to post, unfortunately you have missed the last Christmas posting days for both first and second-class mail.
Cancelled driving tests
Driving test examiners who are members of the PCS are striking for the rest of December and into January.
Some vehicle testing and enforcement services are also affected., external
Until 24 December, the walkouts will affect driving test centres in north-west England and Yorkshire and the Humber. The strike action will not affect theory tests.
After Christmas - from 28 December to Tuesday 3 January - the strike will move to the east of England, East Midlands, West Midlands and parts of London.
How are you affected by the strikes? Are you taking part in strike action? You can email: haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, external.
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- Published31 January 2023
